Rossetto, Il (1960)

Director:

Damiano Damiani

Writers:

Damiano Damiani (writer)
Cesare Zavattini (writer)

Release Date:

1965 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

Cast

Pierre Brice	...	Gino Luciani
Giorgia Moll	...	Lorella Severano
Pietro Germi	...	Commissario Fioresi
Bella Darvi	...	Nora, madre di Silvana
Laura Vivaldi	...	Silvana De Carli
Ivano Staccioli	...	Dott. Mauri
Nino Marchetti	...	Agente di polizia
Renato Mambor	...	Vincenzo, il garzone
Lia Angeleri	...	Una prostituta
Florella Fiorentino
Stefania Ré		(as Stefania Re)
Edy Nogara
Armando Guarnieri		(as Armando Guarneri)
Bruna Cealti
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Erna Schürer	...	Cinzia Severano
Sara Simoni	...	Margherita

Also Known As:

Jeux précoces (France)
Lipstick (USA)
Red Lips (UK)

Runtime:

USA:89 min | West Germany:93 min | UK:95 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

CFPC (Comptoir Français de Productions Cinématographiques)

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Uomo dal sigaro in bocca, L' (1997)

Authentic and enjoyable

From the opening shots until the closing sequence, _Il Rossetto_ has the gritty feel of reality. This realism is generated by the use of grainy black and white stills as a background for the initial credits, is bolstered by the discussions of a group of worldly young girls, and is thereafter maintained for the duration in a seamy world of grifters, police, hookers and poverty.

The male lead, Pierre Brice, brings to the screen the same suave arrogance and sinister menace that a young Robert Wagner brought to a similar role in _A Kiss Before Dying_. The young female lead (Laura Vivaldi) is, similarly, very believable as an adolescent whose good character is cast into disrepute by the sexist assumptions of the police, her mother and others involved in the murder case.